The Palace of Versailles served as one of a few royal residences, to four kings of France, for a span of over a hundred years; Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI (who was ultimately guillotined during the French Revolution.). 

After the revolution Versailles served several uses. Starting with Napoleon, who after crowning himself emperor, turned the area known as the Grand Trianon into his summer residence.  The Palace was also used for special occasions, such as major state events, and grand ceremonies, including the signing of World War I’s treaty of Versailles.  Ultimately the Palace of Versailles and its grounds would come to serve as a museum and a park.

There are four major sights at Versailles and a few minor ones.  The four major sights include, the Chateau itself, the expansive park grounds, the gardens with their fountains, and the Trianon palaces (including Marie Antoinette’s Hamlet).  Taken as a whole, Versailles is incredibly large… and very crowded.

There are a few different ticket options for visiting Versailles.  You may purchase tickets to single areas of the estate or a passport ticket, which gives access to the whole estate of Versailles.  To access the Palace all visitors must book a time slot, whether purchasing a Palace Ticket or a Passport Ticket.  The palace is the only area where a timed entry is required. To book a time-slot to the Palace and view all the different ticket options visit the official website at:  en.chateauversailles.fr 

The palace and the estate of Trianon are open everyday except Mondays.  The park and gardens are open everyday.  Admission to the park is always free.  Entrance to the gardens is free except on days with fountain shows and musical gardens.  The fountains found throughout the gardens only run during “fountain shows”, which follow different schedules.  In addition to the scheduled daytime fountain shows and musical gardens shows (check the website for current schedules) every Saturday from June to September there is a night fountain show which culminates with a fireworks display.

Entrance to the Palace 

The section with the clock was the original chateau before Louis the XIV expanded by adding on the wings.

The Palace

The number of rooms inside the palace is astounding, apparently 2,300 to be more exact (not all of them open to the public). Some of them are kept as they were during the reign of the four King Louis’s. Other rooms now house art, showcasing great battles and the history of France.

The Salon of Abundance:

A room where evening refreshments were served.

Venus Drawing Room:

The main entrance to the King’s State Apartment.

Mercury Room:

Originally the royal bedchamber in the Kings state apartment, it was purely a ceremonial bedchamber. More often than not, the bed was removed, and the room was used for table games.

Louis XV’s Bedchamber:

Not far from the ceremonial bedchamber was the King’s actual bedchamber.

Queen’s Bedchamber:

Hall of Mirrors:

The Hall of Mirrors 

At nearly 250 feet long the hall is lined with 17 arched mirrors.  Each mirror is matched by a window opposite it.  Mirrors at the time of Louis XIV who had the hall built, were apparently a great luxury and the size of these mirrors would have seemed astounding.  Even for today, it is quite stunning.

Grand Trianon 

The Grand Trianon was originally built by King Louis XIV to escape from court life and spend time with his mistress.  Today it appears as it would have during the first empire period.  Napoleon used the Grand Trianon as an occasional residence and had it fully refurnished.

Petit Trianon

Louis XV’s first mistress Madame de Pompadour had the Petit Trianon built and later it was home to his next mistress, Madame du Barry.  When Louis XVI became king he gave the mini palace to his new wife Marie Antoinette who made it her home away from the main Palace.

The Queens Hamlet

The so-called faux peasant village Marie Antoinette had built was an actual working farm complete with a dairy, a watermill, goats, chickens, etc. although her servants were the ones who actually worked it, she apparently enjoyed spending a lot of her time here.

The Gardens & The Fountain Shows

I loved the fountain show at Versailles. The fountains are so lifeless when they’re not on, even the gardens themselves feel less alive.  Indeed a lot of the gardens seemed more like background settings meant to showcase the fountains.  Some of the fountains are really elaborate and fun too.  So if you’re wondering if the fountain shows are worth the extra cost and planning.  I say yes! Definitely yes.

The Night Fountain Show

But my favorite part of visiting Versailles was renting bicycles with my mother and just biking along the tree lined lanes.  Since the grounds are so large and spread out, the bikes were also the perfect way to get to the Trianon Palaces and to visit Marie Antoinette’s hamlet.  You can’t take the bikes inside but there are several bike racks at the entrance to each.

Bikes aren’t the only thing you can rent, they also have golf carts (which are expensive, but they have discounts for people with disabilities.)

The Park

Continuing beyond the gardens lies the park grounds.  The expansive park grounds include the large “Grand Canal” where row boat rentals are available, everyday from March to the middle of November.

Restaurants and Cafes

There are several restaurants and cafes available both inside the palace and on the grounds.  There are lots of little mobile snack carts as well.

Make sure to give yourself plenty of time, with so much to see and do you can easily spend an entire day at Versailles.   🙂